Title: Integrated environment management in steel industries

Authors: Rajesh Kumar Singh, H.R. Murty, S.K. Gupta, A.K. Dikshit

Addresses: Department of Environment Management, Bhilai Steel Plant, Steel Authority of India Limited, Ispat Bhavan, Room No. 542, Bhilai, Durg, Chattisgarh 490001, India. ' Department of Environment Management, Bhilai Steel Plant, Steel Authority of India Limited, Ispat Bhavan, Room No. 544, Bhilai, Durg, Chattisgarh 490001, India. ' Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India. ' Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076, India

Abstract: Environmental issues in steel industry are so numerous, complex and interconnected that an ad hoc approach to problem solving is no longer considered effective. The growing pressure from all stakeholders forces steel companies to incorporate the environmental responsibility in all activities. Consequent to evolution of various environment management tools for supporting and improving environmental performance of the industry, steel companies have focused their attention towards integration of environmental strategy in their overall management system. This paper deals with an Integrated Approach to Environmental Management of the steel industry, which shall ensure a continuous improvement in environmental performance in order to increase competitiveness in the future steel market. In this paper, a business model is being suggested for integration of environment in overall management system. Based on the above model, a framework has been designed for implementation of Integrated Environmental Management Systems (IEMS) in steel industry. IEMS aims at |the Greening of the industry| which shall integrate Pollution Prevention (P2), Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Environment Management Information System (EMIS), green supply chain, environment performance evaluation, environmental accounting and other environmental management tools to EMS according to ISO 14001 requirements. This approach shall allow the steel companies to find and implement profitable and powerful measures that avoid waste generation; reduce environmental pollution; improve consumption of natural resources and go beyond legal compliance.

Keywords: integrated environmental management systems; IEMS; environmental management information systems; EMIS; pollution prevention; life cycle assessment;LCA; environmental performance; steel industry; ISO 14001; sustainability; green productivity; sustainable development; waste reduction; environmental pollution; resource consumption.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMDM.2008.017194

International Journal of Management and Decision Making, 2008 Vol.9 No.2, pp.103 - 128

Published online: 18 Feb 2008 *

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